Olga Glassman Parker was born November 13, 1929, to William and Hope Glassman, in Philadelphia, PA. Olga grew up in Warren, PA, leaving that city at the age of 16 after only two years of high school, to attend the University of Chicago. She graduated in 1949 with a BA in liberal studies and proceeded to Carnegie Tech in Pittsburgh, PA, to earn a secretarial degree. She died of natural causes on June 19, 2023, in Rapid City, SD.
Olga met the love of her life, Watson Parker, at the University of Chicago. They were married in 1950 and moved to Hill City, SD, in 1951 where Watson managed his family’s business – Palmer Gulch Lodge. When Watson entered graduate school, they moved to Oklahoma and then to Oshkosh, WI, where they resided for 20+ years before retiring to the Black Hills. Throughout their marriage, Olga used her secretarial skills to type many of Watson’s scholarly papers and books. They enjoyed 63 years of marriage before Watson passed away in 2013.
While Olga was primarily a stay at home mother, she also worked occasional part-time jobs, in secretarial and bookkeeping positions. She was a Cub Scout Den Mother, a library volunteer, and a member of AAUW, the Embroidery Guild (Oshkosh, WI), the Antiques Club (Oshkosh, WI), Westerners Black Hills Corral #8, and Friends of Hill City Library.
She loved photography, traveling, and making pictures of the people and places she visited. A historian in her own right, she documented her growing family, and her trips to China, Russia, and historical monuments around the United States. Her photo albums are an amazing record of family life from the 1950’s onward.
Olga is survived by her three children James (Karyn Kozo), David (Tiggie), and Becky Jensen (Larry), as well as six grandchildren and nine great grandchildren. Olga was predeceased by her sister, Nema Maynard, and her brother, David Glassman.
In lieu of flowers (which she did not like) the family suggests memorials to the Hill City Library building fund (PO Box 88, Hill City, SD 57745) and Warren County Historical Society (210 Fourth Ave, Warren, PA 16365).